Norwich sets up City Hall Christmas tree

Twenty-five years ago, David and Terry Anderson purchased a live blue spruce for their family Christmas tree.

This December, thousands of people will celebrate the holiday season under the same tree.

Adam Benson

Twenty-five years ago, David and Terry Anderson purchased a live blue spruce for their family Christmas tree.
This December, thousands of people will celebrate the holiday season under the same tree.

After that Christmas a quarter of a century ago, the Andersons planted the tree in the yard at their 257 Salem Turnpike home, where it has been part of the landscape for the past two decades.

On Thursday, the blue spruce was installed in front of City Hall to serve as the centerpiece of Norwich’s holiday festivities. Another blue spruce from the couple’s yard was erected on Franklin Square.

“One of them was starting to grow into the telephone wires, so we talked it through and felt it was time to let them go,” Terry Anderson said. “I think we had prepared ourselves for it.”

Every year, the city’s Public Works Department places an advertisement in The Bulletin soliciting for holiday trees for the downtown locations.

Department director Barry Ellison said officials receive several offers for trees every year, and they work hard to make sure the donors live within the city.